Saint Francis Media Notes
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LORETTO, Pa. -Â The Saint Francis men's basketball team returns to action on Saturday afternoon against Central Connecticut. The Red Flash had another big comeback against Bryant on Thursday, coming back from down 15 points in the second half to defeat the Bulldogs, 63-57.Â
Basil Thompson (Philadelphia, Pa./Imhotep Charter) scored a career-high 16 points in the win, and Ronnie Drinnon (Jamestown, Ohio/Greenview) added 12 points and 16 rebounds. Ben Millaud-Meunier (Montreal, Quebec/Vanier) and Josh Nebo (Katy, Texas/Cypress Lakes) each scored 10 points.Â
NOTES FROM BRYANT
- SFU overcame a 10-point halftime deficit and a 15-point second half deficit with 18:35 remaining.Â
- It's the first season sweep for Saint Francis of Bryant in the programs' brief history. Bryant owns a 7-6 advantage.Â
- Ronnie Drinnon (Jamestown, Ohio/Greenview) tied his season high with 16 rebounds. The first time came at Binghamton in December.
- Basil Thompson (Philadelphia, Pa./Imhotep Charter)'s 16 points are a new career high.
- Saint Francis shot 31.7 percent in the win, its first win while shooting less than 40 percent since beating Central Connecticut in Jan. 2014 while shooting 37.9 percent.
- The Flash's four made three pointers are tied for the second fewest in a win this season. SFU hit three in a win over Wagner in January and hit four in a win at Binghamton in December.
- Bryant led for 37:29, SFU for 1:31 and didn't hold a lead until 2:07 remained in the second half, and the game was tied for 1:00.
- The win tied Rob Krimmel with Kevin Porter for ninth place on the school's coaching wins list with 42.
KRIMMEL INTO NINTH PLACE ON WINS LIST
Head coach Rob Krimmel moved into a tie for ninth place on the Saint Francis wins list with his 42nd career victory over Bryant on Thursday night. Krimmel tied Kevin Porter with that win. Porter came back to coach the Flash from 1983-87 following an outstanding playing career in Loretto. John Loughran (1920-24) holds eighth place with 51 wins. Dr. Skip Hughes (1945-66) is the school's all-time wins leader with 293. He's the only Saint Francis coach to reach the 100-win plateau.
MILESTONES WITHIN REACH
Saint Francis has a couple players within reach of milestones. Ben Millaud-Meunier (Montreal, Quebec/Vanier) is four points shy of reaching 900 for his career. Josh Nebo (Katy, Texas/Cypress Lakes) is two blocks shy of moving into a tie for 10th place on the school's single-season blocks list. Nebo has 30 this season.
SWEEPING BRYANT
Saint Francis has two wins this season when trailing at halftime and when trailing by double-digit points, both against Bryant. It's the first season sweep of Bryant for the Red Flash in the teams' brief history. Thursday marked the 13th game in the series. Bryant currently leads the all-time series, 7-6.
WIN INDICATORS
While the Red Flash relied on making threes to win games last season, this year the number it allows looks to be more important. Saint Francis is 10-5 when its opponent makes seven or fewer three pointers this season and is 1-6 when the opponent makes eight or more. SFU is actually a losing team when it hits eight or more three pointers, coming in at 4-6. Rebounding is also playing a big role in the NEC portion of the schedule. After winning the rebounding battle just three times in non-conference play (and going 3-0 in those games) the Flash has won or tied the rebounding battle in 10 of its 11 NEC games. In those contests, the Flash is 7-3.Â
ABOUT CENTRAL CONNECTICUT
After starting the season 1-18, the Blue Devils have won two of their past three games. That includes a wire-to-wire 65-60 victory at Robert Morris on Thursday night. Central Connecticut's lead grew to as many as 23 points in the contest, and the Blue Devils were able to sustain a late Colonial rally to secure the victory. CCSU outrebounded Robert Morris, 45-34.Â
Four Central players scored in double figures, led by Khalen Cumberlander's 18 points. Austin Nehls scored 17 points, and Brandon Peel scored 10 points and added 17 rebounds. Mustafa Jones was the fourth player in double digits with 12 points.
LOOKING AHEAD
Saint Francis takes on Robert Morris on Thursday on ESPNU. Central Connecticut continues its road trip at St. Francis Brooklyn on Thursday in a game televised on MSG and Fox College Sports before playing at Sacred Heart next Saturday.
SERIES HISTORY
Central Connecticut leads the all-time series, 20-16, but the Flash is 5-2 against the Blue Devils under fourth year head coach Rob Krimmel. The fifth of those victories came two weeks ago in New Britain in a 79-64 Red Flash victory. Freshman Isaiah Blackmon (Charlotte, N.C./West Charlotte) cemented his case for the NEC Player and Rookie of the Week in the victory, scoring 20 points on 9-of-9 shooting.